Electric razor



March 5, 1946 F. KERWER ELECTRIC RAZOR Filed Oct. 10, 1944.

i A l, Z Kx Patented Mar. 5, 1946 ELECTRIC RAZOR Fred Kerwer, Little Neck, N. Y., assigner to Douglas Leigh, Inc., New viforlr, N. Y.

Application (ictober l0, 1944, Serial No. 557,959

(Cl. Sil-d3) 16 Claims.

The present invention relates to electric shaving devices.

Its principal object is to provide an electric shaver whose head is provided with the capacity to move relatively to the body of the shaver, this movement being in addition to the movement of the cutter carried by said head. More specifically, the head of the shaver is caused to move in a generally circular or orbital-but non-rotary-path, relative to the longitudinal axis of the body.

In all cases it is deemed desirable to retain the standard'head and driving mechanism of conventional electric Shavers. Other driving mechanisms and head construction may also be used.

These are but illustrative forms which the invention may take: there are others which need not here be described.

Three illustrative embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the first embodiment;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section thereof;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section thereof;

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the mechanism which causes circular movement of the head of the shaver relative to the body thereof;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section of the second embodiment, showing the mechanism which causes circular movement of the head of the shaver relative to its body;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on the line i-3 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of the third embodiment of the invention, partly broken away to show in vertical section, the mechanism which causes such circular movement of the head relative to the body; and

Fig. 8 is a plan view of said mechanism.

Referring to the first embodiment, the invention includes a casing le, a conventional electric motor E i, a conventional shearing or cutting head l2, and a conventional drive shaft I3 operatively connecting said motor to said head. The motor is carried by a frame ill which is pivoted at the base of the casing in a modied form of ball and socket construction i5. The frame is connected to the head by means oi pins or screws it.

rihe mechanism which eiects circular movement oi the head relative to the casing consists of horizontally disposed annular gear 2li which is fixed in the upper part of the casing, planetary gear wheels 2l and 22 in mesh with said annular gear and with pinion 23 which is Xed to shaft I3. It will be noted that said gear wheels are provided with flanged sides which overlap, to a limited extent, pinion 23 and annular gear 20. The latter construction maintains all of said gears 2Q to 23 inclusive in a common plane and in constant meshed relationship. It will also be seen in Figure fi that gear Wheel 2i is smaller in diameter than gear wheel 22. This construction is the key to the circular movement of the head of the device since rotation of the shaft causes plan-` etary movement of gear wheels 2l and 22 and hence a movement of revolution of the shaft in addition to its movement of rotation. Since the shaft is on a xed axis relative to the head of the shaver and to the motor and motor frame thereof, there is corresponding movement of the head, motor and motor frame. And since the frame is pivoted to the base of the casing, the entire mechanism of the shaver, including the head, shaft, motor and motor frame, move in a path of movement which describes a cone.

It will be seen in Figure 4 that annular gear 20 has horizontally extended portions or ears 24 in .which are formed vertical holes 25. It is through these holes that pins it, which are of considerably.

smaller diameter than said holes, pass. The substantial clearance between said pins and the sides of said holes renders possible the above described movement of the head relative to the casing. A soit rubber ring 26 may occupy the space between the head of the shaver and the casing thereof, immediately above the annular gear. The function of this ring is to prevent foreign matter from entering the casing cavity.

In the second embodiment of the invention as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 there are two features which the rst embodiment lacks: reduction gearing and a cam action for effecting the circular movement of the head above described.

This embodiment has no annular gear and no planetary gear wheels. It has a bridge or plate SEE which resembles the annular gear in all respects except that it is provided with a small centrally formed bore hole 3l, instead of the large, internally toothed opening of the annular gear. An eccentrically apertured wheel 32 is rotatably disposed within said hole 3l. extends through said eccentric hole, being rotatably disposed therein.

Integral with wheel 32 is a gearwheel 33 which meshes with idler pinion 34. Integral with pinion .'ili is a second gear wheel 35 which meshes with pinion S6, the latter pinion being flxedly mounted on the drive shaft. Pinion 34 and gear Wheel 35 are rotatably mounted on pin 31 which is aixed to the shaft bearing 38.

The drive shaft Except as thus described, the construction of the second embodiment of the invention is identical with that of the rst. It is clear, therefore, that when the drive shaft rotates at conventional speed, the cam wheel will rotate at a much slower speed. As it rotates it imparts to the drive shaft, and hence to the shaver head, a circular or orbital motion as above described.

The third embodiment as shown in Figures '7 and 8 differs from the rst two embodiments in that only the head and not the motor and motor frame moves in an orbital path, and further in that the head moves in a plane to which the longitudinal axis of the body of the shaver is at all times perpendicular.

In the present construction the motor shaft 40 and the head shaft lli are two separate elements which at no time are in alignment with each other. Amxed to the head shaft is an internal crown gear d2 and integral with said crown gear is a pinion fifi. Ailixed to the motor shaft and in mesh with said crown gear as will hereafter appear, is a pinion d5. In mesh with pinion 43 are two gear wheels l5 mounted on centrally xed pins d which are rotatably carried by the head lll and on eccentrically nxed pins le which are rotatably carried by the casing d.

The effect of such construction is that the head moves in a small orbit around the longitudinal axis of the body of the shaver. In consequence of such movement the pinion lli is always in mesh with crown gear d2. f

As above indicated these embodiments are but illustrative of the invention, and other embodiments and modifications of the described embodiments may be had without departing from the broad principles of the invention. The key to the present invention is orbital movement of the head of the shaver relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaver body-this in addition to the normal movement of the cutter itself relative to the shaver head which carries it,

I claim:

1. A n electric shaver comprising a head member which carries a cutter, a body member which carries a driving mechanism, and means operatively connected to said driving mechanism, which causes a positive movement of said head member in a predetermined orbital path relative to the longitudinal axis of said body member.

2. An electric shaver comprising a substantially conventional head member which carries a cutter, a substantially conventional body meinber which carries a substantially conventional driving mechanism, and means operatively connected to said driving mechanism which causes a positive movement of said head member in a predetermined orbital path relative to the longitudinal axis of said body member.

3. An electric shaver in accordance with claim 1 in which the head member moves in a plane to which the longitudinal axis of the body member is at all times perpendicular;

4. An electric shaver in accordance with claim 1 in which the head member moves in a path which, when extendedv laterally, forms a cone having a common longitudinal axis with the body member.

5. An electric shaver in accordance with claim 1 in which the head member moves in said orbital path integrally with said driving mechanism, the path of movement thereof describing a cone.

6. An electric shaver comprising a head member which carries a cutter, a body member, a driving mechanism pivoted to the base of said body member, a drive shaft operatively connecting said driving mechanism to the outterjan annular gear fixed to said body member, a pinion fixed to said shaft, and a pair of planetary gear wheels of different diameter in mesh with said pinion and said planetary gear.

7. An electric shaver comprising a head member which carries a cutter, a body member, a driving mechanism pivoted to the base of said body member, a drive shaft operatively connecting said driving mechanism to the cutter, a bridge on said body member, a hole in the center thereof through which said shaft extends, a cam rotatably mounted on said shaft and rotatably carried in said hole, and a set of reduction gears operatively connecting said shaft to said cam.

S. An electric shaver comprising a head member which carries a cutter and a sha1" t operatively connected to said cutter, a body member which carries a driving mechanism including a drive shaft, a crown gear affixed to the first mentioned shaft, a pinion affixed to the drive shaft in mesh therewith, a pinion connected to said crown gear, and a pair oi planetary gear wheels in mesh with the latter pinion, said gear wheels being mounted on centrally fixed pins which are rotatably carried by the head member and on eccentrically fixed pins which are rotatably carried by the body member.

9. A dry shaver comprising a base, a cutter head having shear elements relatively movable in a certain direction transversely of said base, means movably supporting said cutter head on said base for movement as a unit in a predetermined orbital path relative to the longitudinal axis of said base, a motor having a rotatable shaft, and means comprising said shaft for relatively reciprocating said shear elements in said certain direction and moving said cutter head as a unit in said orbital path.

10. A dry shaver comprising a cutter head having relatively movable shear elements, a base movably supporting said cutter head for predetermined orbital movement thereon as a unit, and means for operating said shear elements in a plurality of different lateral positions on said base,

FRED KERWER, 

